With the stricter “circuit breaker” measures encouraging social distancing and remote working in Singapore, digital services have become much more critical for consumers and businesses as they provide a safe alternative to many everyday tasks that take people out of their homes.
Singtel’s Dash is supporting the community with new initiatives that will provide customers and partners with more options as they seek to remit money, shop online for necessities, and connect their businesses with demand.
To aid employers and foreign workers based here in Singapore who are impacted by stay home measures and travel restrictions, Dash is offering complimentary mobile remittance services to enable safe and convenient digital money transfers to the seven countries in its network - Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group, said, "At Singtel, we are standing with the nation to safeguard public health and safety amid COVID-19. During these uncertain times, we understand how important it is for customers to be able to stay connected or send money to loved ones, and we are pleased to enable that through our digital services like Dash. In particular, we’re extending support to healthcare workers fighting on the frontline, and foreign workers in Singapore. We recognise that many of our remittance customers are the sole breadwinners in their families, and we want to rally behind them by relieving some of the burden they face in these challenging circumstances.”
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Chairman of the Migrant Workers’ Centre and the Centre for Domestic Employees said, “The COVID-19 outbreak has placed great strain on our foreign worker community in Singapore, especially with the stricter measures being implemented to fight the spread. We welcome Singtel’s efforts to make it easier for our migrant brothers and sisters to use mobile remittance services and defray some costs, as well as give them the freedom to do remittance without the need to queue physically at remittance outlets. This will help provide much-needed peace of mind for the workers and their families, who depend on receiving this money promptly during this trying period. We are pleased to work with Singtel to raise awareness among our migrant brothers and sisters on using digital solutions to stay connected with their communities and to transfer money home.”
Providing relief through remittance fee waivers and complimentary COVID-19 insurance
Dash will offer complimentary remittance services1 to healthcare workers sending money to any of the seven markets served by Dash, and to Malaysians transferring funds home to Malaysia, a new addition to Dash’s remittance network. Dash will also waive fees on all new users’ first mobile remittance. In addition, Dash has teamed up with local insurer NTUC Income to be one of the first to extend free 30-day COVID-19 insurance protection2 to foreign workers when they remit at least S$100 back home. The COVID-19 insurance provides a S$1,000 lump sum payout upon diagnosis, and supplements Dash Protect, which is already available on a complimentary basis to customers remitting S$100 and above. Later this month, Dash will also roll out enhancements to its remittance offering for China, Singapore’s largest remittance market.
“Mobile remittance services is one way customers can reduce their exposure to crowds and physical contact. Furthermore, employers can increase the convenience for their foreign workers by paying them directly through Dash, as that money can then be easily and securely sent overseas without having to leave the safety of home. We’re encouraging one and all to use digital services during this time to stay home and stay safe,” Mr Lang added.
Supporting customers, merchant partners and SMEs
To help customers tide through this period, Dash is also launching a Stay Home, Stay Connected campaign in the coming weeks, partnering top online shopping sites such as Lazada, Shopee and Amazon, as well as food delivery services including Deliveroo to offer even greater savings. Customers can use their Dash Visa Virtual Account to make online purchases or food and grocery deliveries from home without the need for an actual credit or debit card.
Dash will also be helping merchants better find, connect with, and serve the needs of the online customer base, functioning as a channel for them to market their services to all Singapore residents. For instance, to encourage the support of small and medium businesses, Dash will offer cashback on all purchases at 99%SME, the online marketplace that aims to encourage people nationwide to discover products from these businesses. This initiative is in support of the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Stay Healthy, Go Digital campaign to promote the use of digital technologies to carry out daily activities from home and make business continuity plans more accessible during COVID-19.
Dash, which counts over a million registered users, is available to everyone regardless of telco or banking relationship, and can be downloaded on any mobile platform.